Appeals court upholds conviction in cold-case murder

Robert Schmidt was convicted in July of killing Robert Sarko 12 years after his disappearance.

June 27, 2013|By Peter Hall, Of The Morning Call

A state appeals court on Thursday rejected a former Moore Township man's claims he was wrongly convicted of a 2000 murder that remained unsolved for nearly 12 years.

Robert A. Schmidt was convicted July 12 in Northampton County Court of first degree murder and sentenced the same day to life in prison without parole for killing Robert J. Sarko.

Sarko's body was not found for nearly four years after Schmidt shot Sarko in the head and buried the body on his South Mink Road land, where it wasn't discovered for four years, and wasn't conclusively identified until 2010.

A Northampton County grand jury investigating cold-case murders recommended in 2011 that Schmidt be charged. Prosecutors said Schmidt lied about Sarko's whereabouts while cashing the dead 26-year-old man's Social Security disability checks and using his name to try to stay out of trouble.

In post-trial motions, Schmidt's lawyer argued that the testimony of key prosecution witnesses was too unreliable to support the conviction.

One, Brian D. Miller of Mississippi, said Schmidt admitting shooting Sarko and bragged that authorities wouldn't find the body "for a million years." But on appeal, Schmidt argued the testimony was unworthy of belief because Miller also admitted lying to police during their investigation of Sarko's disappearance.

Another witness was unreliable because of a history of drug dealing, Schmidt argued, and because his fear of becoming implicated in the crime made his motive for testifying suspect.

Writing for a three-judge Superior Court panel, Judge Sallie Mundy said that while jurors might give less weight to such testimony, the evidence was enough to prove that Sarko was unlawfully killed, that Schmidt was responsible and that he intended to kill the victim.

Mundy added that the prosecution's case was compelling and the jury's verdict was supported by the evidence.

Schmidt also argued the judge made an error when he refused to exclude Sarko's statements to an SPCA officer to whom Sarko had surrendered a pair of pug puppies when Schmidt's property was raided in June 2000.

SPCA officer Kathy Andrews had said Schmidt would kill Sarko if he found out, Andrews testified. Schmidt argued the testimony was prejudicial.

The judge noted the law calls for the exclusion of prejudicial evidence when it could lead the jury astray. In Schmidt's case, she said, the officer's testimony was relevant because it supported a reasonable inference that Schmidt intentionally shot Sarko.

Finally, the court found that Schmidt was too late raising concerns about the judge's legal instructions to the jury and did not consider that issue.